Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-04-27
Source: The Conversation – in French– By Océane Corbin, PhD Student and research coordinator, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
Bone-smashing, peptidemaxxing, Blackpill, PSL rating: these terms, once marginal, are now present on platforms like Instagram or TikTok. Behind these neologisms lies a growing phenomenon: looksmaxxing, which is the optimization of physical appearance to get closer to masculine beauty standards.
Optimizing one’s appearance is nothing new, even if some popular techniques in the looksmaxxing movement carry significant risks. More worryingly, the phenomenon echoes the rise of masculinist discourse, especially when considering where it originates from.
Looksmaxxing, a term originating from incel communities
Looksmaxxing takes root in the early 2010s, within communitiesincels, (involuntary celibates). This term refers to heterosexual men who wish to have romantic or sexual relationships with women but are unable to do so. They hold women’s emancipation and feminism responsible for this situation. They are notably known fortheir violent and radical speeches.
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At the base of the movementincellies the ideology of the black pill (blackpill), according to which our entire existence would be based on our physical appearance. This ideology contains a widely spread myth within anti-feminist communities, according to which 80% of women would be interested only in 20% of men. Incels call these latter“some Chads”, that is, men who meet the criteria of male beauty. These statisticshave since been denied.
Despite this, some followers of looksmaxxing are ready to take the most extreme measures to “ascend,” that is to say, improve their physical attractiveness: hammer blows to the skull, draconian diets, various injections, even hard drug use. The American influencerClavicular, one of the leading figures of the movement, notably highlighted the consumption of crystal meth as a method of physical optimization.
A Trojan horse towards radical ideologies
Under the guise of aesthetic advice, looksmaxxing can also open the way to violent reactionary worlds.
The literature informs us about someexisting bridgesbetween anti-feminism and violent forms of the far right. In certain online spaces, discussions about male beauty and body transformation do not only concern appearance: they stage a hierarchical vision of the world, where virility, domination, and anti-feminism go hand in hand.
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Thevalorization of inequality in all its formsis here the key to understanding the possible transition between these contents and others more radical. Beauty then becomes the supposed sign of a higher value. These contents are all the more effective because theyfit perfectly into the digital attention economywhich makes them profitable and exportable content on different platforms.
By constant exposure, they can trivialize certain codes and make more radical representations of the world more acceptable.
Control of bodies, a tool known to fascism
This obsession with the body is nothing trivial.
Historically, fascist imaginaries have often valued the virile, young, and disciplined body as an image of a supposedly healthy social order. The scientistsCatherine Tebaldiof the University of Luxembourg, andScott Burnett, from Pennsylvania State University, specialists in the far right,show in this studypublished inJournal of Right-Wing Studiesthat in some contemporary far-right circles, this logic takes a very concrete form: square jaw, lean muscles, stoic posture, self-control, rejection of emotions, refusal of anything perceived as soft or feminine.
Taken separately, these elements may seem trivial, at least in a society already permeated by patriarchal norms. But assembled, politicized, and disseminated by actors close to the far right, they reflect a very specific ideal, which Tebaldi and Burnett link to the Nazi figure ofMen’s association(literally “band of men”): that of a virile, warrior, and hierarchical brotherhood, where the athletic male body is not only presented as beautiful, but as thevisible proof of moral and racial superiority.
From self-optimization to performance obsession
Looksmaxxing reactivates a part of this logic, butin contemporary neoliberal languageÂ: that of self-optimization, performance, and competition.
It is not just about “taking care of oneself,” but about learning to read the body as a verdict. A prominent jaw, low body fat, strict dietary discipline, or an ability to endure pain become signs of superior worth.
Conversely, bodies perceived as weak, fat, effeminate, or undisciplined are associated with failure, inferiority, or even civilizational decadence. This is where aesthetics overflows into politics: whenbecomes accustomed to naturalizing social norms, to think that physical strength reveals the value of an individual, it becomes easier to accept hierarchical worldviews,where some are meant to lead and others to obey.
A global phenomenon that also affects women
Although it was initially aimed at men, looksmaxxing has migrated to mainstream platforms, leading to the emergence of a female version of the phenomenon that reinforces a rhetoric of control over women’s bodies, thousands of years old.
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Influencers offering “personalized support” have expanded their market by promoting extreme low-calorie diets that continue well-documented dangerous practices, whether from the pro-anorexia movements of the 2000s or, more recently, the trendskinnytokon TikTok.
Like theshows the sociologist Caroline Désy, from UQAM, historical fascisms contributed, along with other historical currents, to making health, beauty, and body discipline instruments for assigning women to specific roles, linking appearance, femininity, and motherhood.
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Female looksmaxxing extends this logic: it is not only about being desirable, but about fitting a femininity compatible with a patriarchal order.
Deconstructing myths
Looksmaxxing is the symptom of a broader phenomenon: the rise of antifeminist discourse, both online and offline.
TikTok certainly offers a disclaimer stating “your weight does not define you” when searching for looksmaxxing content. However, the videos are only very lightly moderated by the platforms, and often dangerous looksmaxxing methods continue to be offered to an increasingly young audience.
The fact that looksmaxxing is becoming popular in a context of rising antifeminist discourse is no coincidence. The ideology behind looksmaxxing is based on aalleged innate superficiality of women, and it is this same biological determinism that serves as the basis for masculinist ideas that now structure our digital environment.
In addition to individualizing the relationship to the world, the hyperfocus on physical appearance can depoliticize and divert individuals’ attention from major social issues. Deconstructing the myths conveyed by this phenomenon is therefore a necessity.
Océane Corbin received funding from Quebec research funds (FRQ)
Tristan Boursier received funding from the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Diversity and Democracy (CRIDAQ).
–ref. Looksmaxxing is more than a cult of appearance: it echoes masculinist discourses –https://theconversation.com/le-looksmaxxing-est-plus-quun-culte-de-lapparence-il-fait-echo-aux-discours-masculinistes-278942